Attorney: Reporter won't comply with court order to reveal source

A reporter who has been ordered to turn over his notes and the name of a source who leaked police reports about a grisly double homicide in Joliet does not plan to comply with the court’s request.

Kenneth Schmetterer, an attorney representing patch.com reporter Joe Hosey, asked Will County Judge Gerald Kinney this morning to enter his ruling finding Hosey in contempt of a court order so he could appeal it. Schmetterer made the request, noting it did not make sense to wait until the scheduled Oct. 3 hearing on the issue to let Kinney know Hosey would not comply.

Kinney said he understood the request, but noted he would need time to write the order. The issue will come before Kinney again Sept. 20.

“I appreciate your candor,” Kinney told Hosey’s attorney.

Kinney’s order stems from a motion by attorneys for the four people charged with the slayings.

Adam Landerman, 20; Joshua Miner, 25; Bethany McKee, 19; and Alisa Massaro, 19, all are charged in the strangulations of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins in Massaro’s home in Joliet.

Defense attorneys requested and received a gag order in the case shortly after Hosey’s articles were published on patch.com. In the articles, Hosey included details attributed to police reports the website “obtained,” including allegations that Miner and Massaro had sex on top of the bodies and that Miner wanted to keep the victims’ teeth as a trophy.

Schmetterer has argued that Illinois shield laws, which protect reporters from having to turn over their notes, should apply in this case. The Chicago Headline Club, a local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, recently issued a statement urging Kinney to withdraw his ruling requesting Hosey turn over his notes.

“The CHC strongly opposes Will County Judge Gerald Kinney’s order that Joseph Hosey of patch.com violate his promise of confidentiality by revealing sources for his stories on the Joliet murders,” read a statement on the group’s website.

Kinney has collected hundreds of sworn affidavits from police, attorneys and attorney employees in an attempt to find the source of the leaked documents. If the source is an attorney, that person could be held in contempt of court. If it is someone who denied being the source in an affidavit, that person could face perjury charges.

Defense attorneys have argued Hosey’s stories contained details that could prejudice a jury in the case.

“We’re obviously very pleased by the judge’s’ ruling, and we feel it is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the case,” said McKee’s attorney Chuck Bretz.